Dear Reader,
Over the past several years, our work has increasingly drawn us into conversations that sit at the crossroads of geopolitical tensions, geoeconomic disruptions, and the evolving demands placed on regulators, supervisors, and the firms they oversee. What has become clear is that many of the pressures shaping global institutions today cannot be understood — much less managed — without closer alignment between rigorous academic methods and real-world practice.
Against that backdrop, the announcement below marks an important step. Being invited to join Oxford’s Department of Politics & International Relations as a Practitioner Associate, and to serve on the International Advisory Board of the Centre for Advanced Social Science Methods, is not only a real privilege but also a timely opportunity for Starling. DPIR provides the political and institutional context in which contemporary risk challenges now unfold. Meanwhile, CASSM is researching the methodological capabilities we will all need as data, complexity, and AI reshape the terrain on which governance and policy decisions are made.
At Starling, we engage with these issues every day. My hope is that this new relationship will broaden the dialogue, strengthen the work we are already doing, and open new pathways for collaboration between scholars and practitioners confronting this set of emerging challenges.
Stephen Scott
Founder & CEO, Starling
Starling today announced that Founder & CEO Stephen Scott has been invited to join the University of Oxford’s Department of Politics & International Relations (DPIR) as a Practitioner Associate. Concurrently, Scott has been appointed to the International Advisory Board of the University’s newly established Centre for Advanced Social Science Methods (CASSM).
 Stephen Scott |
These appointments come as public and private sector leaders confront heightened geopolitical volatility, geoeconomic uncertainty, and rapid shifts in regulatory and supervisory expectations — forces that demand new approaches to these emerging risks, at their intersection with technology innovation and public expectations.
An applied behavioral scientist, technology entrepreneur, and policy advisor, Scott is widely recognized for his expertise in investigative risk intelligence. Through Starling, he pioneered the use of computational social science methods to support proactive risk identification and mitigation. Starling’s Predictive Behavioral Analytics bring data-driven methods to qualitative risk governance challenges.
Scott’s experience complements DPIR’s focus on the political and institutional dynamics that are reshaping global affairs, and aligns closely with CASSM’s work to advance Oxford’s leadership in computational social science, machine learning, experimental design, and other frontier social science methods with direct relevance for policymaking and organizational leadership.
“DPIR and CASSM are stepping forward with exciting new initiatives at a moment when the ground is moving beneath policymakers, board directors, executives, and the institutions they serve,” Scott said. “Professionally, it’s a privilege to engage with scholars whose work helps us grapple with the complex geopolitical and geoeconomic forces reshaping today’s risk landscape. And personally, I’m honored to join a renowned scholarly community I’ve long admired.”
Scott added: “I’m especially looking forward to collaborating with CASSM as it advances cutting-edge methods that bear directly on the emerging opportunities that AI brings to risk governance and policymaking. At Starling, we work across these domains every day. This partnership will enhance that work, by allowing us to engage with and contribute to the methodological innovations underway at Oxford.”
“The DPIR is delighted that Stephen has become one of our Practitioner Associates and has joined the Advisory Board of CASSM,” said Department Head Professor David Doyle. “Stephen brings a wealth of expertise and experience to CASSM, which we have no doubt will be of great value to the Centre and to the wider Department. We are excited to work with him to develop CASSM into a cutting-edge research centre that speaks to both academia and industry.”
“The Centre for Advanced Social Science Methods is delighted to announce that Stephen Scott has joined the Centre's International Advisory Board and has joined DPIR as a Practitioner Associate,” said Professor Ben Ansell, Director of CASSM. “Stephen brings a wealth of knowledge about regulation, finance, and artificial intelligence to CASSM, along with a long history of engagement with the academic sector,” he added, noting the many who have contributed to the Starling Compendium, the company’s flagship annual publication, and those sitting on Starling’s Academic and Scientific Advisory Board.
About Stephen Scott
Stephen Scott is Founder & CEO of Starling, and Executive Editor of Starling Insights. A risk management expert, he has led successful investigative intelligence engagements in over 50 countries and has worked with: corporate boards and officers; governance risk & compliance professionals; internal and external legal counsel; PE firms, hedge funds, and other investors; and with government officials worldwide. Stephen has lived and worked in New York, Washington, Chicago, London, Frankfurt, Madrid, and Shanghai. He holds degrees from Cornell University, the London School of Economics, and dual-MBA degrees from Columbia and the London Business School.
About Starling
A globally recognized technology pioneer, Starling equips firms with Predictive Behavioral Analytics capabilities that support leadership in their efforts to create, preserve, and restore value. Marrying data science to behavioral science and network science, Starling allows its customers to anticipate and shape the behavior of employees and teams proactively, through actionable insights critical to optimizing performance and to identifying and mitigating non-financial and governance risks.
About the Department of Politics & International Relations (DPIR)
In 1920, Oxford founded its renowned Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) Bachelor’s course — the first of its kind in the world. After 80 years training future leaders — British Prime Ministers Harold Wilson, Edward Heath, and David Cameron; past-U.S. President Bill Clinton and National Security Advisor Susan Rice; Indira Gandhi, the first female Prime Minister of India; and Nobel Peace Prize Winner Aung San Suu Kyi among them — in 2000 the Department of Politics & International Relations was established, and celebrates its 25th anniversary this year.
About the Centre for Advanced Social Science Methods (CASSM)
Launched this year, the Centre for Advanced Social Science Methods will serve as an interdisciplinary hub, bringing together departments across the University of Oxford, including Politics, Economics, Sociology, and Law, to develop, share, and enhance computational, experimental, and qualitative methods, with an initial focus on: machine learning, large language models, lab and field experiments, and other advanced qualitative methods. Businesses, governments, and researchers have unimaginable volumes of data, and new computational tools allow us to process that data to create new realms of understanding. CASSM will help to translate that into actionable insights to inform and improve the functioning of businesses, governments, and international institutions.
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